Apparatus for extracting sugar-juice.



PATEN'IED MAR. 28, 1905.

J. RIGNEY. APPARATUS FOR EXTRAGTING SUGAR JUICE.

APPLICATION, FILED SEPT. 23. 1904.

lNvE'N--rorz @ai @nur MTNESSES um M ATTORNEYS Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

`JOSEPH RIGNEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING SUGAR-JUICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,154, dated March28, 1905.

Application filed September 23, 1904. Serial No. 225,643.

To a/ZZ whom, it 717,602/ concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH RIGNEY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing in the borough of Brooklyn,city of New York, in thecounty of Kings and State of New York, have invented an ImprovedApparatus for EX- tracting Sugar-Juice from Cane or the Like, of whichthe following' is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide improved apparatus forincreasing the percentage of sugar recovered from sugar-cane or thelike; and it consists, essentially, in the improved construction andlocation of apparatus for agitating the bagasse in the presence of wateras it comes from the crushing-rolls, and thus mechanically washingit andextracting the sugar-juice by diffusion. This is successfullyaccomplished by the aid of mechanism for feeding the bagasse to andthrough a long channel-like washing-chamber, means for supplying waterand causing it to flow through the bagasse in a direction contrary tothe direction of advance of the bagasse, and means for opening out thebagasse to prevent it forming an impenetrable mass in theWashing-chamber as said bagasse is advanced therethrough, thuspermitting the water to readily percolate through the material to washit and carry off the sugar-juice, to be afterward separated therefrom.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation ofthe washingchamber of my invention; and Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofthe same, drawn to a reduced scale, showing the crushing-rolls, piping,and tank.

As shown in the drawings, A is the set of crushing-rolls for crushingout the great percentage of the juice in the cane.

B is a vertical stand-pipe.

C is a short horizontal cylindrical member communicating with the bottomof the standpipe, and P is a solid-ended piston fitting within saidcylindrical member and suitably reciprocated from a crank-shaft p. Thetop wall of the horizontal member is provided with a long narrow slot S,above which slot a hopper H is located. The slot S has its longestdimension parallel with the axes of the crushing-rolls A to enable therolls to deliver the bagasse in a sheet to the interior of the member C.

On the center line of the channel or standpipe B a vertical shaft b isstepped, provided at suitable distances along its length withpropeller-like or pitched blades b. Scraperblades 3 are secured at thelower end of the shaft, which bear upon the interior surface at thebottom of the stand-pipe. Beneath the path of travel of thescraper-blades 3 there is an outlet-pipep',\vith its inlet-surfaceprotected by a screening-plate E.

The upper end of the stand-pipe is contracted, and through the open endthereof the shaft projects, a worm-wheel IV or other suitable gear beingsupplied to give it rotation. Just within the contracted upper end ofthe stand-pipe there is secured to the shaft a cone-shapedsqueezing-screw 52. Below this squeezing-screw Z22 there are located anumber of water-inlets I, which may be supplied from a tank T. Aprojecting blade g on the screw Z22, traveling in a channel Gr at thetop of the stand-pipe,serves to guide all bagasse discharged from theannular opening left at the upper end of the stand-pipe to an inclinedchute c, by which the bagasse may be fed to a second set 0f rolls F',which express the liquid from the bagasse into a trough t beneath therolls, from which it may be pumped by a pump c3 to a tank T to be eithertreated with lime to neutralize it or not, as may be necessary, and thisjuice may thence be returned to the inlets I in the upper part of thestandpipe.

The water may be allowed to stand in the stand-pipe up to a level belowthe top of the hopper H. The rolls A are caused to deliver their sheetof bagasse to the interior of the cylindrical member C, which materialis advancedV from time to time as new material is admitted and forcedforward by the piston until the whole space between the hopperopeningand the bladed shaft is packed with the bagasse and a dam made therebyto prevent liquid from running out through the hopper. If desired. thelevel of the water can now be raised within the stand-pipe; but it willnot be found necessary to do so in many cases.

The shaft iS given a motion to cause the IOO lower pitched blades belowthe water-level to agitate the bagasse as it is forced into the lowerpart of the stand-pipe and to cause it to be thoroughly washed for theextraction of the juice. At the same time the blades feed the bagasseupward through the stand-pipe and break the bagasse up to present a moreor less loose mass of advancing bagasse to the percolating and diffusingaction of the water admitted at the inlets l. Asubstantially cylindricalloosened mass of bagasse reaches the upper contracted end of thestand-pipe, where much of the liquid taken up by the bagasse in itstravel is squeezed out to fall down upon and through the bagasseadvancing toward it. The bagasse is delivered from the top of thestand-pipe as a more or less broken cylinder of feltcd bagasse and stillcontains a certain quantity of water and a small portion of sugar-juice,varying' greatly under diiferent conditions. The bagasse is broken awayfrom its cylindrical form and guided to the chute c, by which it is fedto the rolls F, which express almost all the liquid from it. The bagassefrom these rolls may bc thrown aside and dried and then used for fuel inthe ordinary manner, while the liquid expressed from the mass islreturned to the tank T for the use before described.

I claim as my inventionw l. Apparatus for extracting juice from bagasseor the like, comprising a stand-pipe provided with water-inlets near theupper part and a screened outlet for liquid near the bottom, a rotaryshaft in the stand-pipe, carrying a series of pitched blades adapted toadvance the material up through the stand-pipe as a loosened mass, ascraper-blade on the shaft adapted to clean the screened outlet andmeans for feeding the material to the lower part of the standpipe.

2. Apparatus for extracting juice from bagasse or the like,comprisingastand-pipe provided with water-inlets near the top and anoutlet for liquid near the bottom, a rotary shaft in the stand-pipe,carrying a series of pitched blades adapted to advance the material upthrough the stand-pipe as a loosened mass in combination with aconeshaped squeezing-screw on the-upper end of the shaft at the outletleaving an annular dischargeopening, as and for the purpose described.

3. Apparatus for extracting juice from bagasse or the like, comprising astand-pipe, a shaft therethrough with a number of. pitched bladesthereon of such a number and pitch as to advance the material slowly upthrough the stand-pipe as a loosened mass, the stand-pipe havingWater-inlets near the top of the standpipe and an outlet for the liquidnear the bottom thereof, in combination witha short hori- Zontal memberopen to said standpipe, a solid-ended piston therefor and a hopper inthe Wall of said member.

4. Apparatusfor extracting juice from bagasse or the like, comprising astand-pipe, a shaft therethrough with a number of pitched blades thereonof suoli a number and pitch as to advance the material slowly up throughthe stand-pipe as a loosened mass, the standpipe having Water-inletsnear the top of the stand-pipe and a liquid-outlet at the bottomthereof, in combination with a short horizontal member open to saidstand-pipe, a solid-ended piston therefor and a hopper in the wall ofsaid member, adjacent to the shaft. a screen for said outlet, and ascraperblade on the shaft adapted to clean said screen.

In testimony whereofIhave signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH RIGNEY.

